the price of land and feed increases, the farmers of the Northwest are waking up to the fact that an evergreen grove is an absolute necessity, and that they cannot afford to plant any other. The maple, willow, box elder and other similar trees take so much land that they cannot afford them. They are a windbreak in the summer, but a joke in the winter.
The time is not far distant when every up-to-date farmer in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and other Northwest states will have a good evergreen grove which will be considered as much of a necessity as his barn, house or other outbuildings.
Late this fall, my wife and I left Hampton for an automobile trip through Minnesota, North Dakota and into Canada. It seemed to me on this trip that the most beautiful thing we saw about the farm buildings were the evergreen groves that many of the farmers now have all through Minnesota and Dakota. I was certainly very much surprised at some of these windbreaks and at some of the varieties of evergreens that were being grown successfully as far north as Fargo. Near Fargo we found some extra good specimens of Norway spruce, which I consider the best of all windbreak makers. We also found the Scotch pine doing well 100 miles northwest of Fargo, and other varieties which were naturally to be expected being planted to a considerable extent.
As far as usefulness is concerned, the farmer of the prairie states is bound to get more real value from an evergreen than any other person, but I am very glad to say that the homes of the wealthy in the cities each season are being improved more and more by the planting of the more ornamental evergreens. Cities like Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Boston, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and other large cities of the United States are using thousands of evergreens every season to beautify the homes, of not only the wealthy but of the laboring man also. The price of evergreens at the present time is within the reach of everyone owning a home, and there is no other improvement that can be placed upon a piece of ground at so little expense and so little labor that will add so many dollars in real value to that property as will the evergreen, either as a windbreak or in landscape work.
Annual Report, 1915, Executive Board.
J. M. UNDERWOOD, CHAIRMAN
The report of the executive board is necessarily brief from the fact that the machinery of our society is kept in such excellent condition by our secretary, that there is little left for our board to do. His monthly issues of the "Horticulturist" keep the membership posted on all important items of interest and are a splendid examplification to the public of the value of our publications and of the meetings of our society. Your executive board meets twice a year to verify the accounts of the secretary and treasurer and at other times when there is something of importance to attend to.
We wish to call your attention to the fact that your board is practically self supporting. The members work for nothing and board themselves, which is a mighty good way to do.
There is a work of very great importance for the members of our society to do the coming year. That is to help in every legitimate way to secure an appropriation by the next legislature with which to build for our society a home. We should have had it provided so that we could celebrate our semi-centennial a year from now in our own home. If we were a private society, we would have had a home years ago.
We should be closely affiliated with the horticulture of the State University. Our home should be located on the grounds of the Agricultural College, where the building could be used for other purposes when not needed by our society. Let every member of our society interview the senator and member of the house from his or her district next fall and secure their promise to support a bill to appropriate $50,000 for building us a home.
Annual Report of Treasurer, 1915.
GEO. W. STRAND, TAYLORS FALLS, TREASURER.
| RECEIPTS. | ||
| 1914. | ||
| Dec. 1. | Balance on hand | $4,948.35 |
| Interest on certificate of deposit, six months, to November 1, 1914 | 126.15 | |
| 1915. | ||
| Mar. 1. | Semi-annual allowance | 1,500.00 |
| Apr. 5. | Interest on deposit, six months, to April 1 | 85.96 |
| A. W. Latham, receipts secretary's office, November 25, 1914 to June 21, 1915 | 3,290.74 | |
| Sept. 4. | State Treasurer, semi-annual allowance | 1,500.00 |
| Dec. 1. | A. W. Latham, receipts secretary's office June 21, 1915, to December 1, 1915 | 1,064.30 |
| ————— | ||
| $12,515.50 | ||
| DISBURSEMENTS. | ||
| 1914. | ||
| Dec. 12. | Order 229, A. W. Latham, Revolving Fund | $600.00 |
| Dec. 12. | Order 235, Premiums Annual Meeting | 596.50 |
| 1915. | ||
| Mar. 1. | Order 230, A. W. Latham, first quarter salary | 450.00 |
| Apr. 5. | A. W. Latham, interest on deposit | 85.96 |
| June 1. | Order 231, A. W. Latham, second quarter salary |
|